Makeover
by plazmah
Summary: Zack contemplates what's happening to him as Angela whisks him away for his makeover. Zack, Angela.


Title: Makeover  
Author: smitha-r  
Rating: G  
Fandom: Bones  
Pairing: Zack/Angela friendship  
Summary: Zack contemplates what's happening to him as Angela whisks him away for his makeover.  
Notes: Spoilers for 2x11 - Judas On A Pole. I don't own anything Bones-related, thanks. Unbetaed.

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Nervous didn't even come close to what Zack Addy was currently feeling. What had he been thinking? Had he known that asking Angela to make him look the part of a professional forensic anthropologist would have involved cutting his hair, he would have rethought his decision to ask her in the first place. But the damage was already done; the hair had already been cut and he felt weirdly exposed without it, gazing at his reflection in the hairdresser's mirror. His hair hadn't been this short since he was thirteen.

Unfortunately, the hair was only the first step in Angela's whirlwind quest. She grinned at him cheerfully and gave him two thumbs up as he paid the girl at the counter. Hopefully, the rest of her mission would not be so discomforting.

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Zack Addy did not like shopping. He didn't have the patience for it, and found that purchasing items online eliminated much of the social awkwardness that he ultimately fell prey to during an outing into the real world.

Angela took him to an upscale men's clothing store, intent on picking a suit out for him. Zack wasn't sure about her decision. Hodgins didn't wear a suit to work. Booth did, but most likely due to the fact that as an FBI agent, he was the public face of a government agency and had to appear extremely professional. There was also an element of power that came from wearing a suit. Suits were unspoken signals of superiority.

Superiority and power, in association with himself, Zack Addy? He couldn't quite comprehend it.

When they got inside, Angela did all the talking with the salesperson. Zack merely did as he was told, placing his arms out to the side when asked, letting the salesperson take measurements as the polite man chattered with Angela about fabric and texture and brand names and other things he didn't understand. A phrase that Cam sometimes used came to mind: like a deer caught in the headlights. Zack finally had an inkling what the expression meant.

Finally, Angela came up to him with a suit and assorted accessories in her hands. She dropped the clothes into his arms.

"Here, try these and then come out and show me how it looks."

The small change-room had a single stifling light inside, and he had imagined that putting on the suit would make things worse. But to his surprise, the material was light and comfortable. Ensuring that everything was in proper order, shoes and shirt and tie and jacket, he unlocked the door and stepped outside to face the three-sided mirror that Angela was waiting by.

To be truthful, he was kind of shocked, although one probably couldn't tell. Zack wasn't exactly the sort of person who was forthcoming with his emotions. But all the same, he was a little shocked at what he saw in the mirror. It didn't look like him. Well, obviously it looked like him. But not like the Zack he remembered, the Zack he had grown accustomed to over so many years. He hadn't realized one's self-image could potentially be manipulated through a simple change of clothing.

_I look... good. Grown-up._ He felt a little dizzy and wondered if the day's events finally getting to him.

Angela whistled at him, resting her chin on his shoulder as she stood next to him and met his eyes in the mirror's reflection. "Now _that_, Zacky baby, is the way a successful young forensic anthropologist _should_ look."

"I can't believe that's me." Zack mumbled, shock gradually morphing into a spark of confidence somewhere deep inside.

"Of course it's you." She replied gently, putting her arm around his shoulder with what he interpreted to be reassurance. "You're a smart guy, Zack, we all know it. Now the world will know it too." She tugged him away from the mirror and pushed him back towards the change-room. "Now get out of those clothes so that we can buy them. The gang won't know what hit them when we show up with this surprise. Oh, I have seriously outdone myself this time!"

He allowed himself a smile as he closed the door behind him, suddenly feeling optimistic about the future that awaited.

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